Vending-machine.



VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1a, 1904.

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No. 879,544):Y PATENTE) PEB. 18, 1908. H. R. HoLBRooK.

VBNDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19, 1904.

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HARRY R. HOIJBROOK, OF ATTLEBORO, MASSACHUSETTS.

' vENDING-MAGHINE.

Specification ofiLetters Patent.

Patented Feb. 18, 1908..

Application filed September 19. 1904. Serial No. 224.938.

T o all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, I-IARRY R. HoLBRooK,

' a citizen of the -United States, residing at Attleboro, in the countyof Bristol and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Vending-Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention has reference to an improvement in vending machines andmore particularly to an improvement in automatic vending machines fromwhich the article is automatically delivered to the buyer on thedropping of a coin through a coin slot in the machine.

Vending machines having a series of automatically controlled merchandisedelivery hoppers have been used. This construction is complicated,expensive to manufacture, and detrimental, as the buyer is liable todrop the coin in the wrong slot.

The object of my invention is to control a series ofautomatically-operated merchandise delivery hoppers from one coin slotand chute, and I accomplish this object by rotatably securing thehoppers about a central coin chute which is operatively connected insuccession with each hopper by revolving the hoppers around the coinchute.

A further object of my invention is to improve the construction of anautomatic vending machine, whereby the merchandise to be vended isdisplayed to better advantage and a more attractive vending appaatus isconstructed than has heretofore been one.

My invention consists in the peculiar and novel construction of anautomatic vending machine having a hollow base in which is a coinreceptacle and an open compartment through which the merchandise isdelivered, a hollow central column supported in and extending upwardsfrom the base, a coin chute adapted to be reciprocated in the centralcolumn, a series of vertical merchandise delivery hoppers secured attheir ends in a circle to disks which are rotatably secured to thecentral column, a glass cylinder surrounding the hoppers and centralcolumn and held in position by the disks, an ornamental top supported onthe upper end of the central column and having a coin slot coincidingwith the upper end of the coin chute, means for revolving the disks,hoppers and glass cylinder around the central column and coin chute,mechanisms on the hoppers adapted to engage in succession with mechanismon the coin chute, whereby on the dropping of a coin through the coinslot and chute the mechanism is operated to automatically deliver onepiece of merchandise, such as a collar button, to the open compartmentin the base, means for automatically holding the hoppers in successionover the open compartment, means for locking the hoppers in theirdelivery position over the open compartment when a coin is inserted inthe coin slot and for locking the coin slot against the insertion of acoin when a hopper is in an inoperative position, thereby preventing themachine from receiving a coin without delivering the merchandise, andother details of construction as will be more fully set forthhereinafter.

Figure l is a vertical sectional view taken centrally through myimproved automatic vending machine, showing the automatic mechanism inthe normal position. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on lineX X of Fig. 1 with the top having the coin slot removed. Fig. 3 is atransverse sectional view taken on line Y Y of Fig. l looking toward thebase, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional view takencentrally through the central supporting column and one of themerchandise delivery hoppers, showing the automatic mechanism in itsnormal position in full lines, in the position it would assume when acoin enters the coin slot to set the mechanism in light broken lines,and in the final position of the mechanism which is assumed by thedropping of the coin in the coin chute to deliver the merchandise, inheavy dotted lines.

In the drawings, a indicates the base, l) the hollow central column, cthe coin chute, d the lower supporting disk, c the upper disk, ff themerchandise delivery hoppers, g the glass cylinder, h the cylinderretaining cap, Q', the ornamental top of the machine, lc k the collarbuttons, and Z a coin shown in broken lines to illustrate the operationof my improved automatic vending machine.

The holloiiT base a has the central hub a which supports the centralcolumn l) and eX- tends upwards from the top of the base to form abearing for the lower disk (Z, the delivery compartment az having theinlet opening a3 in the top of the base and the outlet opening a4 in theside of the base, the open top chamber c5 in the top of the base inwhich is an automatic spring actuated stop or holding ldevice consistingof the coiled spring a, the plunger a7, the ball stop as, and the coinreceptacle a secured in the base by the screws al al", as shown in Fig.l.

The central column b is in the orm of a circular tube the lower end ofwhich is iirmly secured in the hub a in the base and has the opening b,the aperture b2, and the slot b3 in the side facing the compartment a2.

The coin chute c in the column is constructed from sheet metal in theform of a deep U-shaped trough the sides c c and the bottom c2 of whichguide the coin. The curved upper end c3 of the chute extends outwardlythrough the slot b3 in the column b and has the bent-over teats c4 c1bearing on the outside of the column l) to hold the chute in itsoperative position, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4 The release lever c5 isshaped to form a continuation of the coin chute c. It is pivotallysecured to thelower end of the chute by the pin c and is held inwardlyat an angle by the light coiled spring C7 which is secured to therelease lever and to the lower end of the chute. rl`he lower end of therelease lever c5 has the projecting stop arms C8 CS and theoutwardly-bent L-shaped end c which enters the opening b in the columnl). The slide 1 is secured to the lower end of the coin chute-c by thepivot pin c6. The upper end c of the slide acts as a stop against theupper end of the aperture 722 in the column b and the lower lend cl2extends downward on the outside of the column, as shown in Fig. 4. Thecoin chute c is held in its upward or normal position by the coiledspring cl3 secured to the slide c10 an d to the column b.

The lower disk d has the central hole d through which the column bextends, the series of radial openings Z2 cl2 through which themerchandise or collar buttons 7c 7c are delivered, the rim Z3 forholding the glass cylinder g in place, and the knobs d4 Z4 on the rimfor revolving the disk around the column b, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

The upper disk e has the central hole e for Vthe column l), and theseries of radial openings e2 e2 for supplying the hoppers f with thecollar buttons 7c 7c, as shown in Figs. l and 4.

The hoppers ff are in the form of a flattened tube, each tube having thecentral longitudinal slot f in its outer face, the lower aperture f2 andthe upper opening f3 in the back, the projections f4 f4 on the endsofthe tube, and the ears f 5 f5 and f G f 6 on the back. The latch f7 ispivotally secured near its center to the ears f5 f5 by the pin f 8 andhas the hook-shaped lower end f9 adapted to enter the aperture 2, theears f 10 f lo on its upper end, and the yoke fu extending outward fromthe pivot toward and under the slide c1". The operating lever fm has thenotched finger fw adjacent its upper end which enters the opening f3,the lower end f 14 which extends downward through the yoke f 11 into aposition for the L-shaped end c9 on the release lever c5 to engage withit and is pivotally secured to the upper end of the latch f7 by the pinf 15 which passes through the ears flo f1 on the latch and the iingerf13on the operating lever. The flat spring f1 is secured to the back of thehopper by the ears f f, its free end bearing on the upper end of theoperating lever f 12, as shown in Fig. 4.

The cylinder retaining cap 7L has the an-.

nular lip 7L which extends downward over the upper end of the glasscylinder g, the radial openings h2 h2 which coincide with the openingse2 e2 in the upper disk e, and the upwardly-extending annular liange h3in which are the notches h4 h4 on a line with the openings h2 h2, asshown in Fig. 2.

The projections ff4 on the ends of the hoppers extend through recessesin the disks d and e and hold the hoppers in position for the open endsof the hoppers to coincide with the openings (Z2 cl2 and h2 h2 in thedisks, and the disks, hoppers, glass cylinder and retaining cap are allsecured together by the bolts h5 h5 which are headed on the under sideof the lower disk d and extend upwards between the hoppers and throughthe upper disk e and the retaining ring h, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

The top t has the annular lip i, the hollow central cone-shapedextension L2 in which is the hub i3 for supporting the top fi on theupper end of the central column b and the vertical coin slot i4 in aposition to coincide with the upper end G3 of the coin chute c, as shownin Figs. l and 4.

The hoppersff are each iilled with a difierent style of collar button byremoving the top i, holding the buttons in a position for the heads toenter the hoppers and the Shanks to extend through the slots in thehoppers, and dropping the buttons through the openings h2 h2 in thecylinder retaining cap h and the openings e2 e2 in the u per disk intothe hoppers where they are he d by the notched lingers ffls on theoperating levers f12 fw.. The different styles of buttons can now beeasily seen by the buyer through the glass cylinder g and present a veryattractive display.

In the operation of my improved automatic vending machine the buyergrasps one of the knobs d* and revolves the disks d and e, the hoppersff, the glass cylinder g, and the cylinder retaining cap 7L around thecentral column b until the style of collar button wanted is in front orover the delivery compartment a2. The spring actuated ball stop as nowsnaps into one of the openings d2 in the lower disk CZ and holds thehopper under spring tension in its delivery position, as shown in Figs.l and 3. The delivery position of a hopper unlocks the coin slot 't4 bybringing a notch h4 in the cylinder retaining cap 7L under the curvedupper end c3 of the coin chute c. The buyer now enters a coin in thecoin slot i4. The peripheral edge of the coin engages with the upperedge of the coin slot and the bottom c2 of the coin chute c, as shown inbroken lines in Fig. l. A slight push on the coin in entering the coinchute now moves the coin chute downwards against the tension of thecoiled spring 1213 into the position as shown in light broken lines inFig. A4. This downward movement of the coin chute brings theoutwardlycurved upper end c2 of the chute into a notch h4 in thecylinder retaining cap h, and the lower end C12 of the slide C10 on thecoin chute engages with the yoke f on the latch f7 and moves the yokedownward. The downward movement ofA the yoke sets the latch f7 b movingthe hook-shaped lower endf9 through the aperture f2 into the hopper andmoving the notched iingerf13 on the operating lever f2 outward from thehopper, the notch in the nger catching on the edge of the opening f3 inthe back of the hopper by the tension of the spring fw, which engagingwith the upper end of the operating lever fw, throws the lower end f ofthe operating lever toward the L-shaped end o9 on the release lever c5,as shown in light broken lines in Fig. 4. The buttons now drop in thehopper, the lower button being held by the hook-shaped lower end f9 ofthe latch. The coin in dropping down the coin chute strikes the innerface of the column l) and the release lever c5 and moves the releaselever against the tension of the light coiled spring c7 into theposition as shown in heavy dotted lines in Fig. 4 and simultaneously theL-shaped end 09 on the release lever strikes the end f1 1 of theoperating lever fm, and, assisted by the spring j, throws the catch andoperating lever back into their normal position, as shown in full linesin Figs. 1 and 4. The lower button is now released and drops into thedelivery compartment a2 from which it is taken by the buyer and the coindrops through the release lever and hollow column into the coinreceptacle a?, as shown in Fig. 1.

By the novel construction and arrangement of the parts of my improvedautomatic vending machine, only one size coin can be used for operatingthe machine. The size of the coin slot would rohibit the use of a largercoin and a smaller coin would pass through the release lever ci withoutoperating the same.

It is evident that the construction of the hoppers f y" may be varied sothat any small f end f1, a pin f article of merchandise may beautomatically vended by the machine, without materially aiiecting thespirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, l claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent l. In a vending machine, the combination i f same,means for rotating the merchandise hoppers around the central column,and mechanism on the coin chute adapted to operate the latch on themerchandise hoppers to receive the merchandise by the reciprocation ofthe coin chute and then deliver the merchandise on the dropping of thecoin.

2. ln a vending machine, the combination of a hollow base having an opendelivery chamber and a coin receptacle, a hollow column centrallysupported on the base, a coin chute in the hollow column, means forreciprocating the coin chute, a series of merchandise hoppers and atransparent cylinder rotatably secured around the hollow column, meansfor rotating the hoppers and cylinder around the column, mechanism onthe coin chute adapted to engage in succession with mechanisms on thehoppers to automatically release an article of merchandise from a hopperon the dropping of a coin in the coin chute, means for automaticallyholding a hopper in its delivery position over the delivery compartment,a top in which is a coin slot, and means for locking the coin slotagainst the insertion of a coin when the hoppers are out of theirdelivery position, as described.

3. The combination with a vending machine of a hollow column b havingthe opening b', the aperture b2 and the slot b3, a coin l chute c havingthe sides c/ c', the bottom c2, the curved upper end c3 and the teats c4c4, a release lever c5 shaped to form a continuation of the coin chute cand pivotally secured at an angle to the lower end of the chute by thepines, a coiled spring c7 connected with the coin chute and the releaselever which is constructed to have the stop arms C8 0S and the L-shapedend c, the slide C10 secured to the coin chute by the pin c, the coiledspring 013 secured to the slide 010 and to the column l), a series ofmerchandise hoppers f f each hopper consisting of a llattened tubehaving the slot f, the aperture f 2, the openingf', the projections f4f4, the ears f5 and f6, a latch f7 pivotally secured to the ears f5 bythe pin]F8 and having the hook-shaped lower end j, the ears fw and theyoke 11, an operating lever fm having the notched iingerf13 and the forpivotally securing the operating lever f12 to the latch f7, and a flatspring f1@ secured to the ears f and bearing on the upper end of theoperating lever f, as described.

I 4. A vending machine embodying a base,

a cylinder, a cap thereon formed with radial openings, a revolublemerchandise hopper,

a revoluble merchandise hopper, means for discharging merchandise fromsaid hopper, coin-actuated depressible means for operating said lastnamed means, and means whereby said depressible means may be operatedand means for discharging merchandise from said hoppers involving a coinactuated depressible coin chute adapted to enter said openings upon itsdepression. 5. A vending machine, embodying a cenl tral movable coinchute, a series of merchanii only at predetermined points. dise hoppersmounted to rotate thereabout, 9. A vending machine embodying a mermeansoperated by said chute and the dropi chandise hopper, mechanism fordischarging ping of a coin for discharging merchandise merchandise fromsaid hopper, and a coin from said hoppers, and means for permittingactuated depressible coin chute having its movement of said coin chutewhen one of lower end movable with respect to the said hoppers is indischarge position. major portion thereof, and formed to engage 6. Avending machine, embodying a and operate said discharging mechanism.tubular column, a depressible coin chute l0. A vending machine,embodying a therein, a spring held release lever pivoted to merchandisehopper, mechanism for 'ssaid chute, a slide carried by said chute, acharging merchandise from said hopper, and spring connected to saidslide and column, a a coin actuated depressible coin chute havingplurality of merchandise hoppers, a latch a pivoted spring pressed lowerend adapted adapted to be operated by said slide pivoted to be movedoutwardly by the dropping of a to each hopper and having a part thereofeX- coin to actuate said discharging mechanism. tending in the hopper,and a spring held 11. A vending machine, embodying a operating leveradapted to be operated by merchandise hopper, mechanism for dissaidrelease lever pivoted to each hopper and charging merchandise from saidhopper, and extending therein. a coin actuated depressible coin chutehaving 7. A vending machine embodying a cenn a projection and a pivotedspring held part tral coin receiving chute, a series of rotatable forsuccessive engagement with said dismerchandise hoppers disposed aboutsaid charging mechanism to actuate the same. chute, means on the hoppersfor ejecting the in testimony whereof l have signed my merchandise,means carried by said chute name to this specification in the presenceof for operating said electing means, means for i two subscribingwitnesses. lookin@r said hoppers against movement and meansbforpreventing izfisertion of a coiri into HARRY R' HOLBROOK' saidchute whenthe hoppers are in unlocked Witnesses: position. ADA E. FAGERTY, 8. Avending machine embodying a base, J. A. MILLER, Jr.

